Christmas or Christmas Day (Old English: Crstesmsse, meaning "Christ's Mass") is an

annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ,[6][7] observed generally on

December 25[4][8][9] as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around
the world.[2][10][11] A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent season
and initiates the twelve days of Christmastide, which ends after the twelfth night.[12]
Christmas is a public holiday in many of the world's nations,[13][14][15] is celebrated culturally
by a large number of former or non-Christian people,[1][16][17] and is an integral part of the
Christmas and holiday season.
While the birth year of Jesus is estimated among modern historians to have been between 7
and 2 BC, the exact month and day of his birth are unknown.[18][19] His birth is mentioned in
two of the four canonical gospels. By the early-to-mid 4th century, the Western Christian
Church had placed Christmas on December 25,[20] a date later adopted in the East,[21][22]
although some churches celebrate on the December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which
currently corresponds to January 7 in the modern-day Gregorian calendar. The date of
Christmas may have initially been chosen to correspond with the day exactly nine months
after early Christians believed Jesus to have been conceived,[23] or with one or more ancient
polytheistic festivals that occurred near southern solstice (i.e., the Roman winter solstice); a
further solar connection has been suggested because of a biblical verse[a] identifying Jesus as
the "Sun of righteousness".[23][24][25][26][27]

Diwali or Divali also known as Deepavali and the "festival of lights", is an ancient Hindu
festival celebrated in autumn every year.[5][6] The festival spiritually signifies the victory of
light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair.[7][8][9]
The festival preparations and rituals typically extend over a five day period, but the main
festival night of Diwali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of the Hindu Lunisolar
month Kartika. In the Gregorian calendar, Diwali night falls between mid-October and midNovember.
Before Diwali night, people clean, renovate and decorate their homes and offices.[10] On
Diwali night, Hindus dress up in new clothes or their best outfit, light up diyas (lamps and
candles) inside and outside their home, participate in family puja (prayers) typically to
Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and prosperity. After puja, fireworks follow,[11] then a
family feast including mithai (sweets), and an exchange of gifts between family members and
close friends. Diwali also marks a major shopping period in nations where it is celebrated.[12]
Diwali is an important festival for Hindus. The name of festive days as well as the rituals of
Diwali vary significantly among Hindus, based on the region of India. In many parts of
India,[13] the festivities start with Dhanteras, followed by Naraka Chaturdasi on second day,

Diwali on the third day, Diwali Padva dedicated to wifehusband relationship on the fourth
day, and festivities end with Bhau-beej dedicated to sisterbrother bond on the fifth day.
Dhanteras usually falls eighteen days after Dussehra.
On the same night that Hindus celebrate Diwali, Jains celebrate a festival of lights to mark
the attainment of moksha by Mahavira,[14][15] and Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas. Diwali
is an official holiday in India,[16] Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad
and Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji and Pakistan.

Contents

Eid al-Adha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eid al-Adha (Arabic: d al-a [id ld] meaning "Festival

of the sacrifice"), also called the Feast of the Sacrifice (Turkish: Kurban Bayram; Bosnian:
Kurban Bajram; Persian: , Eid-e qorban), the "Major Festival",[1] the "Greater
Eid", Baqr'Eid (Urdu: ) , or Tabaski (West Africa), is the second of two religious
holidays celebrated by Muslims worldwide each year. It honors the willingness of Abraham
(Ibrahim) to sacrifice his promised son, Ishmael (Ismail)a, as an act of submission to God's
command, before God then intervened, through His angel Gabriel (Jibra'il) and informs him
that his sacrifice has already been accepted. The meat from the sacrificed animal is preferred

to be divided into three parts. The family retains one third of the share; another third is given
to relatives, friends and neighbors; and the remaining third is given to the poor and needy.
In the lunar-based Islamic calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah and
lasts for three days.[2] In the international (Gregorian) calendar, the dates vary from year to
year, drifting approximately 11 days earlier each year.
Eid al-Adha is the latter of the two Eid holidays, the former being Eid al-Fitr. The basis for
the observance comes from the 196th ayah (verse) of Al-Baqara, the second sura of the
Quran.[3] The word "Eid" appears once in Al-Ma'ida, the fifth sura of the Quran, with the
meaning "solemn festival".[4]

Pongal Festival
Pongal is a four-days-long harvest festival celebrated in
Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. For as long as
Pongal Festival
people have been planting and gathering food, there
has been some form of harvest festival. Pongal, one of
the most important popular Hindu festivals of the year. This four-day
festival of thanksgiving to nature takes its name from the Tamil word
meaning "to boil" and is held in the month of Thai (January-February)
during the season when rice and other cereals, sugar-cane, and turmeric
(an essential ingredient in Tamil cooking) are harvested.
Mid-January is an important time in the Tamil calendar. The harvest
festival, Pongal, falls typically on the 14th or the 15th of January and is
the quintessential 'Tamil Festival'. Pongal is a harvest festival, a
traditional occasion for giving thanks to nature, for celebrating the life
cycles that give us grain. Tamilians say 'Thai pirandhaal vazhi pirakkum',
and believe that knotty family problems will be solved with the advent
of the Tamil month Thai that begins on Pongal day. This is traditionally
the month of weddings. This is not a surprise in a largely agricultural
community - the riches gained from a good harvest form the economic
basis for expensive family occasions like weddings.